Top 5 Social Media Trends for Real Estate Agents in 2014

With over 40 million internet users in Pakistan, home buyers are relying heavily on online sources to provide information, with decreasing focus on newspapers and magazines. Internet has become a crucial and indispensable tool in the home search process. Besides, real estate agents continue to be a critical component in the home buyer’s search process.

Lamudi.pk, an online real estate portal, surveyed real estate professionals recently and reports that those who focused on internet marketing, have not only experienced growth in the number of walk-ins and home sales, but have also shifted their advertising budget from offline media into online media.

Following are the top 5 social media trends for real estate agents that should be dedicatedly targeted in 2014:

Social Media is a “Must Have”

Real estate agents have already realized the impact of social media in terms of lead generation, referral traffic and revenue. Hence, in order to see word-of-mouth advertising, increased customer loyalty, improved brand awareness and improved social signals as social media is one of the pillars of internet marketing a full integration with content strategy is required.

Google Plus

It is quickly gaining momentum and has the second highest number of monthly users after Facebook. Agents can list their physical office details and collect customer reviews which helps clients to find their location through Google maps and Google search.

Hence, real estate agents need to breathe life into their Google+ profiles and they will see the favorable impact on their business.

Amplified Focus on Video Centric Networks

There has already been an increasing trend on the focus of sharing visual content through pictures and videos, rather than a text-based format. Thus, image-centric social media sites such as Slideshare, Tumblr, Path, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Reddit and Mobli will become an integral part of real estate agent’s marketing strategies.

Additionally, as agents are always on the move, showing houses and finding the hottest properties, they can snap pictures using Instagram and post it on Facebook, or turn these into a postcard and send to clients or use them in marketing materials.

Amplified Focus on Communities

Real estate agents should try to focus on joining communities such as LinkedIn Groups and Yahoo Groups or create a community about the local neighborhood or join a community related to city event planning.

These will help in connecting them with potential customers and portray them as a credible resource in the industry.

MySpace is Back

With its rebranding efforts and a deep-seated makeover, it seems to be growing. It is also offering a mobile app which allows users to network and receive private messages etc. It is on the track for growth in 2014 and hence real estate agents who get a first mover’s advantage on this platform will definitely outshine those who don’t.

It is expected that in 2014, a majority of the real estate professionals will understand the gravity of the situation and commit the required time and resources to the above mentioned social media trends.

Nadeem Khan is the founder of Chillopedia who loves to write about gadgets, gaming, SEO, military, mysteries, CMS and trending technologies. He works as a full stack web developer and as a SEO consultant.